Heterogeneous Integration and High-End Performance Packaging

By Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration (IZM)

High performance systems at lower costs - that is the promise of heterogeneous integration and technologies like chiplet architectures. The bright future for advanced packaging and the novel capabilities and highly integrated solutions that Fraunhofer IZM already has in store can be discovered in our high-end performance packaging map. Our professionals are specialists for getting chips onto and into circuit boards. They are experts at constructing interposers, stacking chips, and integrating MEMS into systems. They take care of cooling, antenna, and data transmission capabilities. And last, but not least, they translate all of these innovations into design guidelines and guarantee their reliability. Traditional systems-on-chip that cram all of the features and functions of a microelectronic system onto a single piece of silicon are reaching the end of their potential in terms of performance, flexibility, and the design effort required. The need for further miniaturization and integration of more electronic functions into systems means that the performance standards expected today cannot be fulfilled. The alternative: heterogeneous integration that combines different technologies in order to create miniaturized high-performance systems. Fraunhofer IZM has developed a range of heterogeneous integration processes, optimized for industry on production-ready high-end hardware. We consider ourselves the bridge between the makers of machines, materials, and components and the vanguard of system integration and interconnection technology. As an application-driven research institute, our mission is to understand what each applications requires and needs in terms of technologies, components, and materials and their reliability. We are a registered partner for integration innovations in the preparatory work for the European Chips Act (EuCA). Our researchers miniaturize electronic systems, innovate packaging technologies, develop production processes, and pave the way for tomorrow’s microelectronics. We envision the future of electronic packaging with a sense for all the requirements and capabilities already expected of smart electronic systems and their components - be they heat-resistant, long-lasting, custom-shaped, or even stretchable. Our high-end hardware and leading-edge laboratory facilities are designed for the stringent requirements of current smart electronic systems and can cover the entire spectrum from backend integration of individual chips or 300mm wafers to full panels and functional substrates. Fraunhofer IZM assists businesses around the world with designing, creating, and integrating cutting-edge, robust, and reliable electronic systems to match the unique and diverse requirements of their applications. Our specialists can draw on over 30 years of experience with all past and present packaging technologies to create custom system integration technologies for wafers, chips, or boards.